Exor chairman John Elkann gave a lengthy interview to La Stampa on the eve of the centenary of the Agnelli family’s ties with Juventus, calling the club the ‘backbone’ of Italian football. The Agnelli family have owned the club since July 1923, overseeing periods of great success in Turin, and speaking with La Stampa, Elkann talked about the indelible bond that the family has with Juventus supporters around the world:
“There is a double thread of continuity that unites our family to Juventus over these 100 years: a visceral love, because it is linked to family moments and indelible memories. And then the responsibility to build the future by innovating and adapting to the times. As my grandfather used to say, Juventus means youth. Youth means being projected into the future. Its past is full of glory, but with the name it bears, it is to the future that we must look. We work with humility for us and millions of Juventus families like us.”
“There are those who think Juventus is the problem of Italian football. On the contrary: it is part of the solution. It has always been its backbone. It gave the structure to the national teams that won world titles. And on the economic level with market operations it has spent half a billion euros in recent years to buy players in Italy, contributing significantly to support the budgets of Serie A and minor league teams.”
“We have been through critical moments, we have always faced them, and we have come out with our heads held high. We will come out of it now as well, and time will bear out our choices. This is not our first time. In 1980 a betting investigation came to involve Paolo Rossi (who would later turn out to be unindicted). Boniperti’s Juventus bought him despite his disqualification. Trapattoni continued to coach him and with success: the winning of the 20th scudetto also bore his signature. His victory was also ours, and it repaid all the controversy.”
“The most important singing we have already made. It is the arrival in Turin of Cristiano Giuntoli, the new sporting director, who represents adaptation and innovation, in perfect continuity with our history. Giuntoli will bring to Juventus a way of working that enhances young talent and builds champions.”
“On the investigations, we are convinced that we have acted in total fairness. So we have defended ourselves and will continue to make our case, without arrogance, but with total respect for the institutions.”
